The invention set forth in this specification pertains to a new and improved trailer construction. More specifically it pertains to a new and improved manner of constructing travel trailers.
Since the term "trailer" can be used in differing ways it is considered desirable to indicate that this word is employed in this specification to designate any wheeled vehicle which has wheels located between its ends in such a manner that the vehicle is adapted to be towed behind a powered vehicle such as a car or a truck. Such trailers can be differentiated from various other related vehicles which are commonly referred to using terms as "cars", "carriages" and the like in that they do not employ wheels at their ends in such a amnner that they are inherently stabilized against tipping by such wheels. As the term "trailer" is used herein it designates structures which usually or normally require stabilization from a member or part not an inherent part of the trailer. Most commonly this is achieved when a trailer is used through the use of a "hitch" employed to attach the trailer to a towing vehicle. When such a trailer is stored normally an appropriate stand or support is used to prevent it from tipping.
The manner in which a trailer is constructed and loaded is important in controlling the load placed by a trailer on such a hitch. The latter is frequently referred to as the "tongue weight" since the usual trailer hitch is construction so as to use a so called "tongue" to attach the trailer to the towing vehicle. This tongue weight is quite important to the towing of any trailer. This is most easily illustrated by referring to trailers of the type with which the present invention has its preferred utility-so-called "travel trailers". This latter term is employed in this specification to designate trailers which are especially constructed so as to be useful as either temporary or, on occasion, as permanent or semipermanent human housing.
To be significantly useful for such purposes a travel trailer normally has to be constructed so as to accommodate various "components" such as a refrigerator, a heater, various tanks for holding consumable water and normally both so called "gray" and "solid" liquid wastes and others. These items, and in particular such tanks and their contents, are important in connection with the weight of a trailer. If they are located either ahead or behind of the wheels of a trailer they will influence the "balance" of the trailer.
If the weight between the wheels and the tongue of the trailer is comparatively great the load placed by the trailer may be in excess of the capacity of a particular towing vehicle to support the load and will normally tend to detrimentally affect the manner in which the trailer follows or "trails" the towing vehicle as the trailer is pulled. On the other hand if the weight of the trailer is concentrated to the rear of the wheels of the trailer there many be problems involving the connection of the trailer to the towing vehicle and normally the towing characteristics of the trailer will be detrimentally affected.
As a consequence of these factors the manner in which a travel trailer is constructed has been quite important in connection with the utility of such a trailer. To achieve desirable towing characteristics in such a trailer it has been necessary to locate relatively heavy components of or within the trailer so as to achieve a desired tongue weight such that the trailer can be towed without placing an excessive load on the towing vehicle.
As a consequence of this the internal "lay-out" of a travel trailer has had to be limited in such a manner as to achieve a desired or intended weight balance. This has restricted the manner in which the interiors of travel trailers have been designed. The interior design of travel trailers has also been somewhat restricted as a consequence of the need to accommodate in the floor area of such a trailer enclosures around the wheels of the trailer. The latter are on occasion referred to as "wheel wells".
Both of such limitations as to the internal layouts within a travel trailer are important from a utilitarian and from a purely commercial standpoint. It is believed that travel trailer designers will be able to improve the utility of the manners in which the interiors of travel trailers are laid out if they do not have to be significantly concerned with the weight balance of such trailers. It is also considered that a corresponding type of improvement can be achieved by constructing such trailers so that conventional wheel wells are no longer present within the interiors of such trailers.